With our holdings in Asia, we feel we are managing some of the risk by making invest-ments in companies only when our answer to these questions is yes. Consider Jardine Matheson (SGX:J36, Financial). We believe the stock has traded at a clear discount to the trading value of its subsidiary companies, some of which, like Mandarin Oriental, may be underval-ued by the market. The company is headquartered in Hong Kong and listed in Singapore—developed markets with strong securities laws and favorable tax regimes. The company has net cash at the parent level. It is generally a collection of leading businesses with high market share throughout Southeast Asia. Finally, the company is controlled by the Keswick family of Scotland, which has been a commercial leader in the region for more than a century. Jardine Matheson has substantial interests in Indonesia, a high-potential economy but one whose legal system and capital markets are perhaps less evolved than those of Hong Kong or Singapore. We tend to prefer gaining access to that type of market through vehicles like Jardine Matheson, which are managed by established operators in strong jurisdictions.
From First Eagle Investors' Income Opportunities in Asia PM's Perspective.
